The use of quantiles to obtain insights about multivariate data is addressed. It is argued that incisive insights can be obtained by considering directional quantiles, the quantiles of projections. Directional quantile envelopes are proposed as a way to condense this kind of information; it is demonstrated that they are essentially halfspace (Tukey) depth levels sets, coinciding for elliptic distributions (in particular multivariate normal) with density contours. Relevant questions concerning their indexing, the possibility of the reverse retrieval of directional quantile information, invariance with respect to affine transformations, and approximation/asymptotic properties are studied. It is argued that the analysis in terms of directional quantiles and their envelopes offers a straightforward probabilistic interpretation and thus conveys a concrete quantitative meaning; the directional definition can be adapted to elaborate frameworks, like estimation of extreme quantiles and directional quantile regression, the regression of depth contours on covariates. The latter facilitates the construction of multivariate growth charts---the question that motivated all the development

Motivated by recent work studying massive imaging data in the neuroimaging literature, we propose multivariate varying coefficient models (MVCM) for modeling the relation between multiple functional responses and a set of covariates. We develop several statistical inference procedures for MVCM and systematically study their theoretical properties. We first establish the weak convergence of the local linear estimate of coefficient functions, as well as its asymptotic bias and variance, and then we derive asymptotic bias and mean integrated squared error of smoothed individual functions and their uniform convergence rate. We establish the uniform convergence rate of the estimated covariance function of the individual functions and its associated eigenvalue and eigenfunctions. We propose a global test for linear hypotheses of varying coefficient functions, and derive its asymptotic distribution under the null hypothesis. We also propose a simultaneous confidence band for each individual effect curve. We conduct Monte Carlo simulation to examine the finite-sample performance of the proposed procedures. We apply MVCM to investigate the development of white matter diffusivities along the genu tract of the corpus callosum in a clinical study of neurodevelopment.

Motivated by recent work on studying massive imaging data in various neuroimaging studies, we propose a novel spatially varying coefficient model (SVCM) to capture the varying association between imaging measures in a three-dimensional (3D) volume (or 2D surface) with a set of covariates. Two stylized features of neuorimaging data are the presence of multiple piecewise smooth regions with unknown edges and jumps and substantial spatial correlations. To specifically account for these two features, SVCM includes a measurement model with multiple varying coefficient functions, a jumping surface model for each varying coefficient function, and a functional principal component model. We develop a three-stage estimation procedure to simultaneously estimate the varying coefficient functions and the spatial correlations. The estimation procedure includes a fast multiscale adaptive estimation and testing procedure to independently estimate each varying coefficient function, while preserving its edges among different piecewise-smooth regions. We systematically investigate the asymptotic properties (e.g., consistency and asymptotic normality) of the multiscale adaptive parameter estimates. We also establish the uniform convergence rate of the estimated spatial covariance function and its associated eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. Our Monte Carlo simulation and real data analysis have confirmed the excellent performance of SVCM.

The aim of this paper is to present a functional analysis of diffusion tensor tract statistics (FADTTS) pipeline for delineating the association between multiple diffusion properties along major white matter fiber bundles with a set of covariates of interest, such as age, diagnostic status and gender, and the structure of the variability of these white matter tract properties in various diffusion tensor imaging studies. The FADTTS integrates five statistical tools: (i) a multivariate varying coefficient model for allowing the varying coefficient functions in terms of arc length to characterize the varying association between fiber bundle diffusion properties and a set of covariates, (ii) a weighted least squares estimation of the varying coefficient functions, (iii) a functional principal component analysis to delineate the structure of the variability in fiber bundle diffusion properties, (iv) a global test statistic to test hypotheses of interest, which may be associated with different diffusion properties, and (v) a simultaneous confidence band to quantify the uncertainty in the estimated coefficient functions. Simulated data are used to evaluate the finite sample performance of FADTTS. We also apply FADTTS to investigate the development of white * This work was supported in part by NSF grant BCS-08-26844 and NIH grants RR025747-01, P01CA142538-01, MH086633, and AG033387 to Dr. Zhu, NSF grant DMS 0348869, NIH grants P50-DA10075 and R21-DA024260 and NNSF of China 11028103 to Dr. Li, NIH grants MH064065, HD053000, and MH070890 to Dr. Gilmore, NIH grants R01NS055754 and R01EB5-34816 to Dr. Lin, Lilly Research Laboratories, the UNC NDRC HD 03110, Eli Lilly grant F1D-MC-X252, and NIH Roadmap Grant U54 EB005149-01, NAMIC to Dr. Styner. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF or the NIH. The readers are welcome to request reprints from Dr. Hongtu Zhu.Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptNeuroimage. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2012 June 1. matter diffusivities along the splenium of the corpus callosum tract and the right internal capsule tract in a clinical study of neurodevelopment. FADTTS can be used to facilitate understanding of normal brain development, the neural bases of neuropsychiatric disorders, and the joint effects of environmental and genetic factors on white matter fiber bundles.

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